I am finishing up Different by Harvard Business School Professor, Youngme Moon this week. Thanks to my friend Pat for the nice gift. The title and of course the content is all about differentiation. It might seem that a brand consultant would be stating the obvious when he advocates a book about differentiation. All organizations need to think this way and create cultures that act that way.
No I am not talking about being weird or over the top. I am talking about not trying to act like your competition. I understand that is hard to do. It is very easy to get sucked into thinking and acting like your competitors, especially the successful ones. If you do so, you are going to look like a slightly different shade or a smaller or older version of your competition.
Most organizations were founded because there was a need not being met in the marketplace. Often organizations, especially when there are leadership changes, forget their heritage, their mission and core values. They end up getting off-brand by being obsessed with their competition. This might work in a few isoltated cases, but not in the majority. We are all different. Think and act that way.
Nice topic and post, as we were just talking about what things can happen in the medicine industry.
Posted by: MBT Online | August 02, 2011 at 05:33 AM